Good morning to you! 🙂

Did you know that JPEG file format supports work paths? You probably didn’t, did you? 😉 We got used to thinking that Jpegs don’t support anything – I mean layers, layer styles, smart objects, smart filters, paths etc…

That’s actually a question I once got from one of the delegates on one of my courses:

” Someone told me that I could create a work path in Photoshop and save it in Jpeg file and keep it. Is that possible? “

However, one of the things that are actually supported by Jpegs are work paths. You may be asking – what are work paths? Where do I find them in Photoshop?

Let’s start with what the work paths are:

A work path is a path that appears in the Paths palette and defines the outline of a shape.  A Photoshop path is a line with anchor points at either end. It can be a straight line or it can be curved, depending on how you create it. More-complex paths are made up of multiple segments, each with an anchor point at either end. You can have an open path or you can close the path so the anchor point at the end is created over the top of the first anchor point, thus closing the shape

Here’s where you find it, in the Paths panel of course!

This is an example of a Jpeg file with a saved work path. Now, you may ask : ” So how do I create and save a work path within a Jpeg image? Is there a magic to it? A special technique maybe? “

To find out how to create and save work paths in Jpegs, watch the latest episode of Photoshop Lightroom TV:

Photoshop Lightroom TV – Episode 51.

I hope you like it. Enjoy and have a fantastic weekend! 🙂